Plan B

Originally posted by Cuphalffull:

Originally posted by Joecool:
If a true franchise type of QB is available, you don't pass him up. Even if Alex Smith pans out to be the franchise, then we can still trade either one for a 1st rounder.

You don't pass up any franchise type of player at any position that makes that much of an impact.

From looking at the draft class, do you see any True Franchise QBs coming out? I see some that have potential but none that to me are that solid.

No, but I was just saying...it holds true for any impact position. If the rookie turns out to be just as good as the incumbent, you could save money by letting the veteran go or trade him.

I appreciate your frustrations. I have my own. I think it would be a BIG waste of a pick. Our Oline has sucked the past 5 years. Every year we hear the same crap about picking a can't miss skill player or sack artist. ENOUGH - fix the damn line with 1 first round RT and a second round LG and then we can win more games.

INCONSISTENT is the name of our Oline. If they were better, Gore would have had 1800 yds because the running lanes would have been there. Smith, admittedly not a barn-burner, has gotten better and still does not get descent protection.

We must find out what we have in Nate - he looked very good in pre-season. He should get reps in every game to see how he does. That's how Walsh brought Montana along and that approach worked well w/ Rodgers in GBay. If he's not what we need then let's find one. BUT no matter who we get we MUST fix the terrible Oline we have or we're stuck in Lackaplayoff city.

Originally posted by jesserdumas2:
At what point do we have to start looking for Gore's replacement? We've been taking him for granted for quite some time now.

Here is the deal. If you draft another qb early, it still will take 3 yrs for him to develop. And even i f we drafted the second coming of Montana or Marino he would stil get killed by our disgusting o line. Secondly, I heard scott van pelt of espn say a few months back how every team from 1 to 32 can't get it right when drafting qb's. He said half of the first rounders end up not doing well at the qb position. So its not like the worst teams are drafting bad at qb, the best teams aren't evaluating well either at that position. We need an o line first! End of story.

Plan B began when McCloughan traded for a 2nd first round pick last year and Alex Smith was asked to reduced his contract.

Don't be surprised if the 49ers are looking to trade up to leap frog Cleveland or Washington to grab Jimmy Claussen (and yes, he is a franchise QB- reminds me of Aaron Rodgers). The 49ers are prime suspects for a trade up because

1) no PROVEN franchise QB on current roster
2) tons of cap room
3) two 1st round picks.

And what happens if Alex Smith actually develops into a good QB, we traded up to draft Claussen, and develope Nate Davis- well that's a great problem to have.

This is article from Michael Silver of Yahoo on McCloughan's thoughts after the Crabtree draft: Link

Quote:
To say McCloughan was thrilled would be an understatement. With cap space and a pair of 2010 first-rounders, he now has the ammunition to make a big move if he decides there’s an impact player worth acquiring via trade, either during next April’s draft or at any time before it.

“Having two No. 1s gives us tons of leverage. We got huge value, not just for next year but if we decide to make a trade. We’ve got tons of cap room, so nothing’s holding us back.”

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:
Someone please explain to me why it doesn't make sense to draft a QB with one of our top three picks?

I'm not saying Smith is or isn't the answer, but what if he isn't? What is our plan B? Nate Davis? The guy was a total project pick in the 5th round. Sure he looked good in preaseason, but thats preseason and QBs start to look a lot diffrent once enough film is out there for defenses to game plan with. Look at what happened to our vonted high powered spread offense after just a few games.

We have 2 first round picks and a decent 2nd. Obviously if there is a QB to be had we should take him. We need to think bigger than just the here and now as an organization. If Smith works out we extend his contract and trade the rookie for picks or a player. If Smith blows or more likely is mediocre we probably don’t extend him and move on with the rookie who just had a year to sit and observe.

If you weigh the pro's and con's it's a no brainer to draft a QB this year with one of our top three picks. Obviously there has to be someone there worth it, but that’s up to Scotty to determine.

P.S. I am advocating drafting a QB and letting him sit a year behind Alex, not drafting a QB and cutting Alex.

I fully agree with you.

I fully expect the Niners will draft a QB during next April's draft -- but don't expect to see one selected with the top three picks.

That selection will probably come in the third or fourth round.

QB picks are so hit and miss -- especially in the first round.

But -- what the he** do I know? I'm just a dumb Niner fan.

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:

Originally posted by Cuphalffull:
When is a QB in the first round a sure thing? Question is whether we want to gamble on a QB again when there are too many other glaring needs that far outweigh a QB at this point. O-line is in desperate need of help, the D-secondary needs some work especially at SS, and we really could use a strong pass rusher. If a solid QB was to drop to the second or third round, I think it may be a good idea but I think out O-line is a priority.

Never of course, but when will it ever be? In other words, whether we draft a QB now or later its all about the same in terms of find the "sure thing." So that argument doesn't hold water with me. Besides, in my opinion the only "glaring need" is the Oline which can be answered in the draft and FA. Brooks looks like he might be the answer to our passrush whic by the way is probably one of the biggest gambles in the draft next to QB.

I hear what you are saying but at the same time I don’t see any strong “Franchise” type QBs in the draft so far. So, do we want to gamble on a player that may be equal to what we have or do we go BPA, or do we go with need?
I will say that if we can hit solid with O-line help and/or a good SS in FA I may be more inclined to agree with getting a QB early. I guess for me FA moves will directly effect how the draft will play out. If FA addresses specific holes, taking a chance on a QB early would not be near the risk.

Originally posted by billbird2111:
I fully expect the Niners will draft a QB during next April's draft -- but don't expect to see one selected with the top three picks.

That selection will probably come in the third or fourth round.

QB picks are so hit and miss -- especially in the first round.

But -- what the he** do I know? I'm just a dumb Niner fan.

No, you're exactly right. Read above.

I think you have a valid argument. I will all come down to who's available, and how highly the niners think of Nate Davis. He's not just a 5th round pick anymore. They've had him for a full season, and they'll have more offseason stuff with him before the draft. If they think he's better than the QBs that are available, they don't pick a QB. If they have doubts about his abilities, and a QB is the highest rated player on their board, then yeah, take a QB.

Personally, I have enough faith in the current Alex Smith / Nate Davis combo, and I don't think that highly of the QBs in this draft, so I don't think we should draft a QB in rounds 1-3.

Also, remember that Nate Davis was being talked about as a 2nd round pick before his last two college games and his learning disability came out. The guy has shown he can play, and hopefully with several years to sit and learn, he'll be able to recognize his potential.

Originally posted by Memphis9er:

Originally posted by Cuphalffull:

Originally posted by Joecool:
If a true franchise type of QB is available, you don't pass him up. Even if Alex Smith pans out to be the franchise, then we can still trade either one for a 1st rounder.

You don't pass up any franchise type of player at any position that makes that much of an impact.

From looking at the draft class, do you see any True Franchise QBs coming out? I see some that have potential but none that to me are that solid.

The only QB that looked impressive to me this year was Locker, and he isn't coming out. Clausen is a distant second to me, followed by McCoy...after that, just scrubs.

Agreed, and while neither of them are bad, they don't look that great either. The thing is that to get either of these guys, we may need to move up in the draft. If that is the case, is it worth losing 2 picks on guys that do not look like solid franchise players? I personally don’t think so.

Originally posted by Joecool:

Originally posted by Cuphalffull:

Originally posted by Joecool:
If a true franchise type of QB is available, you don't pass him up. Even if Alex Smith pans out to be the franchise, then we can still trade either one for a 1st rounder.

You don't pass up any franchise type of player at any position that makes that much of an impact.

From looking at the draft class, do you see any True Franchise QBs coming out? I see some that have potential but none that to me are that solid.

No, but I was just saying...it holds true for any impact position. If the rookie turns out to be just as good as the incumbent, you could save money by letting the veteran go or trade him.

I hear ya, I just don’t see anyone that at the QB position that looks like an immediate impact player.

If Colt McCoy is available when we pick in the 2nd rd, I would probably take him but otherwise im not really crazy about taking a QB in the first 3 rd's. I think our best bet is to try and get a solid vet like Hasselbeck or Bulger to compete with Alex Smith and continue to devellop Nate Davis and take a QB in the 4th or 5th rd.

Originally posted by dave1003:

Originally posted by billbird2111:
I fully expect the Niners will draft a QB during next April's draft -- but don't expect to see one selected with the top three picks.

That selection will probably come in the third or fourth round.

QB picks are so hit and miss -- especially in the first round.

But -- what the he** do I know? I'm just a dumb Niner fan.

No, you're exactly right. Read above.[/quote]

About what part....

Originally posted by jb49ers80:
I think you have a valid argument. I will all come down to who's available, and how highly the niners think of Nate Davis. He's not just a 5th round pick anymore. They've had him for a full season, and they'll have more offseason stuff with him before the draft. If they think he's better than the QBs that are available, they don't pick a QB. If they have doubts about his abilities, and a QB is the highest rated player on their board, then yeah, take a QB.
Personally, I have enough faith in the current Alex Smith / Nate Davis combo, and I don't think that highly of the QBs in this draft, so I don't think we should draft a QB in rounds 1-3.

Also, remember that Nate Davis was being talked about as a 2nd round pick before his last two college games and his learning disability came out. The guy has shown he can play, and hopefully with several years to sit and learn, he'll be able to recognize his potential.

All good points. However, I dont know about the BPA part. I think thats overrated as BPA is highly subjective. Of course that is diffrent than saying I'm going to reach for a team need.

The problem I have with Nate is the big deal everybody has made about his disability. The coach (QB coach) even has to draw pictures for him. I mean really? Is that a guy you want to be the leader of your franchise? What happens if there is a disruption in the offense we run? It could happen. Then what? I dont know squat about his disability, but I do know the media and coaches seem to make a big deal out of it.

The only people who are against drafting a QB in the 1st round are those who are afraid to fail.

Did San Diego pass on Philip Rivers because Ryan Leaf sucked? or
Did ATL pass on Matt Ryan because Mike Vick decided to kill dogs and play avg football prior?
Did Detroit pass on Stafford because Joey Harrington was a bust?
Did Baltimore pass on Flacco because Boller sucked?
Did Cincy pass on Palmer because Akili Smith sucked?